The newspaper said the attack was likely to spark conflict between the US and Russia and “took place despite no definitive results from the investigation by an international organisation, and was carried out in the absence of a UN security council resolution”.

“Trump’s decision to attack the Assad government is a show of force from the US president,” it added. “He wants to prove that he dares to do what Obama dared not. He wants to prove to the world that he is no ‘businessman president’ and that he will use US military force without hesitation when he considers it necessary.”

“This is Trump’s first major move in international affairs, and it leaves an impression that the decision was made in haste,” the newspaper added. “The Syrian civil war is entering a new phase. More refugees will flee the region and Europe may have to pay the price.”

Syria rebels welcome US strike

Jamie Grierson

Syrian rebels on Friday welcomed a US strike on a government airbase and called for additional action, with one powerful faction saying a single strike was not enough, AFP reports.

“Hitting one airbase is not enough, there are 26 airbases that target civilians,” a key figure in the Army of Islam faction, Mohamed Alloush, said on Twitter. “The whole world should save the Syrian people from the clutches of the killer Bashar [al-Assad] and his aides.”

Other rebel groups welcomed the US strike and called for continued military action against the regime.

“The American strike against the killing tools used by Bashar al-Assad is the first step on the correct path to combating terrorism and we hope it will continue,” said Issam Raes, spokesman for the Southern Front rebel faction. “In my opinion, the message is political, and the message has arrived to Russia and been understood.”

Colonel Ahmed Osman, of the Turkey-backed Sultan Murad rebel group, said: “We welcome any action that will put an end to the regime that is committing the worst crimes in history.”

Mohamed Bayrakdar, another leader of the Army of Islam, which operates mainly around the capital Damascus, described the strike as “a bold and correct step”.

“We welcome any response to the crimes of the regime,” he told AFP.

A man mourns as members of the White Helmets and other people search for survivors after a reported airstrike in Saqba. Photograph: Amer Almohibany/AFP/Getty Images

Either Russia has been complicit or Russia has been simply incompetent in its ability to deliver on its end of that agreement.

Tillerson said there had been “no discussions” with Moscow before the strike. But the Pentagon confirmed that Russia – a key Assad ally – had been informed in advance of the strike through military channels:

Russian forces were notified in advance of the strike using the established deconfliction line.

Sources told the Guardian that US intelligence officials believe Russian personnel were at al-Shayrat airbase when sarin was loaded on to a Syrian jet. They have not established whether the Russians knew it was happening.

Assad bears full responsibility for this development. Its continued use of chemical weapons and mass crimes can not go unpunished …

France and Germany therefore continue their efforts with partners in the United Nations framework to sanction the most appropriate criminal acts related to the use of chemical weapons banned by all treaties.

We call on the international community to come together for a political transition in Syria, in accordance with resolution 2254 of the security council and the Geneva communiqué.

Sources: Russian personnel at airbase before gas attack

Sources have told the Guardian that US intelligence officials believe Russian personnel were at al-Shayrat airbase when sarin was loaded on to a Syrian jet. They have not established whether the Russians knew it was happening.

The base covers an area of more than 8 sq km and has two runways and dozens of buildings, silos and storage facilities.

Syrian opposition figures claim to have identified the pilot allegedly responsible for bombing Khan Sheikhun at about 6.30am on 4 April. Five hours later, close to 11.30am, a hospital treating victims from the attack was hit by a conventional bomb, dropped from a jet.

The sources say that on both occasions, a Russian Sukhoi was monitored by ground radar and aerial reconnaissance flying over the town. Flashes were picked up on the ground, indicating that ordnance had been dropped.

The air space over northern Syria is monitored heavily by Turkey, the US and Russia, and all three have precise knowledge of whose jets are in the air and where they fly.

It is becoming clear that Syrian government forces were responsible for the outrageous attacks where chemical weapons were used.

These events are horrific. It is critical that the international community emphatically demand an end to this violence, and that the Syrian government be held to account.

In the absence of an adequate response from the United Nations security council, we can understand why the United States has taken targeted unilateral action to try and prevent further such attacks by the Syrian regime.

Russia also says it is suspending its agreement to communicate with the US over the use of Syrian airspace – possibly a reference to the so-called “deconfliction line”, via which the US military gave Russia warning on Thursday of the missile strikes (more on that here):

AFP news agency (@AFP)

#BREAKING Russia 'halts' agreement with US to avoid clashes in Syria airspace: ministry

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, stopped short of explicitly condemning the US airstrikes but said China had always been opposed to the “use of force”.

Hua said China also opposed “the use of chemical weapons by any country, organisation or individual, in any circumstance and for any purpose”.

There was now an urgent need to prevent a “further deterioration” of the situation in Syria, Hua added.